Improvement in hand-desks



M. C. STEBBINS.

Hand-Desks.

No. 132,030, Patented'oct.8,172.

UNITED STATES MILAN C. STEBBINS, OF SPRINGFIELD, MASSACHUSETTS:

PATENT FFICE.

IMPROVEMENT IN HAND-ESKS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 132,030, dated October 8, 1872.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, MILAN C. STEBBINS, of Springfield, in the county of Hampden a'nd State of Massachusetts, have invented a new and useful Hand-Desk; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawing making a part of this specification, and to the letters of reference marked thereon, in which- Figure l is an end view of my invention, showing the hinged clamping-bar open; Fig. 2 is a plan view of so much of my invention as is necessary to illustrate the construction, showing the hinged clamping-bar closed; and Fig. 3 is a side view of the same.

My invention relates to a device to be used for holding paper while writing thereon; and it consists ot' a tablet or board of any desirable size, to one end of which is hinged a bar, having a pin in each end, upon which are placed springs, or some elastic Inaterial7 also secured to corresponding pins placed in two edges of the tablet or board, so that when both ends of the springs are secured the clamping-bar shall be held down to the board or tablet. A

'piece of rubber, or other equivalent material,

is secured along the length of the inside ot' the clamping-bar, so that if sheets of paper be placed between the tablet and the bar they may not be accidentally or too easily 10st out. The tablet has a series of pins secured therein near the top, or one or more pieces of wood secured thereto, which serve as stops, against which the paper is placed, with holes in the clamping-bar, into which the stops enter when the said bar is closed down upon the paper. The tablet, as thus arranged, I denominate a handdesk, and is convenient to be held in the hand or lap, with paper placed therein upon which to write, and the paper, or any portion of it, may be easily removed by slightly pressing up the clamping-bar.

That others skilled in the art may be able to make and use my invention, I will proceed to describe its construction and operation.

In the drawing, B represents the tablet or board, having at one end the piece A secured thereto by the hinges d, so that thesaid piece A may swing up from the board, as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 3, and a strip of rubber, c, is secured to the said piece A in any convenient manner. Pins a are secured to the tablet B near the upper end, and holes are made in the said piece A to receive said pins, when the piece Ais closed down upon the tablet or paper. These pins a merely serve as stops, against which to push up the paper in placing it evenly beneath thepiece A; or, a piece of wood may be glued or secured to the tablet instead of inserting the pins, with a corresponding recess in the piece A to receive it when the said piece is closed down upon the tablet, as shown in the drawing; or the piece a may be made of a little less width than that shown in the drawing, and the hinges d used as stops, against which to push the paper when inserting it in place beneath the clamping-bar A; but it is quite essential to the perfect operation of the device that there should be some provision made for a stop against which to push the paper when inserting it in place beneath the clamping-barA, in order that the paper may be placed under evenly. The pin e is inserted in each end of the bar A, and another pin is inserted in the edge of the tablet B, so that when the bar A is closed down the pin in the tablet and that in the bar are opposite each other; and to both is attached a spring or elastic band, b, which operates to keep the piece A closed down upon the tablet B, or upon anything placed beneath the piece A.

Any desirable number of sheets ot' paper are placed beneath the bar A by slightly raising the said bar and pushing them up against the stops a, and the bar being released, is closed down upon the paper, fasteningit securely between the said piece and the tablet B. The tablet may then be held in the hand and the paper writtenliipon, and as fast as each sheet is written "upon it may be removed by placing the thumb upon the others and giving the written sheet a sudden jerk; and may be led away by raising slightly the bar A and pushing the written sheet up under the others, and so on. rlhe friction piece c upon the bar prevents the sheets from becoming loosened and lost accidentally, and holds the whole package of paper more firmly in place.

The back of the tablet may be covered with cloth or baize, and when so covered the desk is a most convenient arrangement for use in the school-room, and will largely take the place of the slates now so generally used; for it is found by experience that the memorandurns made by the scholar in preparing for his recita-tion are sometimes most important to preserve, and for this purpose paper is now largely taking the place of slates;` and slates are also very objectionable on account of the noise they occasion in their use by the scholars. It is believed also that the desks Will be found a most desirable and useful conipanion for the counting-room desk and the library-table, upon Which to make memorandurns.

It is proposed to have plain paper, of some- What rough surface, cnt up to a proper size and sold in packages to accompany the desks, and when such paper is used the desk will be found most convenient upon which to Write lectures, Ste., for as fast as one sheet is written and led beneath the others, the Whole will be found at last with their pages properly arranged and in order.

Having thus described my invention, what claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

The tablet B, provided with stops d or their equivalent, to which is hinged the bar A, provided with the friction piece o, which bar is held to its place on the tablet by the springs b, the Whole constituting a l1anddesk, and constructed and operating substantially as herein described.

MILAN U. STEBBINS.

Witnesses T. A. CURTIS, M. L. BoYN'roN. 

